No Photos, Please! (Preview)

Two player stealth games are very appealing in my book. They not only offer a bit of strategic depth, but feature a hide-and-seek element that gets the adrenaline pumping. “No Photos, Please!” is one such item, putting two players in the role of either a security guard or photographer who have their own agendas. The photographer must take pictures of his targets (exhibits in a museum) before the security guard can apprehend him. With the museum bustling with activity, the security guard will have his hands full just finding the photographer in the first place. Special thanks to Andreas Grech from The Basement Studios for providing me with a press copy of the Alpha build.

In addition to a seek-and-find element, each player will have an array of special abilities at their disposal. The security guard can apprehend, sprint, and use a proximity sensor while the photographer can use a banana peel (stuns the guard), blinding flash (allows instant teleportation), and sensor rerouter (throws off the proximity sensor). All of these operate via a separate cooldown system, making it vital that players use them strategically.

My experiences with the Alpha were positive overall. There’s definitely a sense of urgency no matter which character you pick. I admit that at some points, I felt overloaded by the sheer number of NPCs walking around the museum. The game is also much faster paced than say, “Spy Party”. Along those lines, I’d like to see options to tone down the NPC count and walk speed. This would force the photographer to play a bit smarter and think about the traffic patterns in play. Right now, it’s just pure unadulterated chaos. Still, “No Photos, Please!” has both the charm and potential to turn a lot of heads. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the final product.

The game is currently under development and has no public build, though it is estimated to launch sometime in quarter two of 2014. A retail price hasn’t been finalized yet as the developer plans to add more content before the official release. Online multiplayer is one such feature, just to name an example, though you can currently play with someone else locally via keyboard or XBox controller.

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You can learn more about and help bring the game to Steam by voting for it on its Greenlight page, here: